Indian Americans’ rising political clout

This article was originally on a blog post platform and may be missing photos, graphics or links. See About archive blog posts.

There are no Indian Americans in Congress, but Ami Bera hopes to change that.

Bera, a 44-year-old physician from suburban Sacramento, is one of six Indian Americans who are running for Congress this year, a record high. Hauling in half of his contributions from Indian Americans, Bera has raised $871,000, even more than Republican Rep. Dan Lungren, the eight-term incumbent he’s trying to replace in California’s 3rd Congressional District.

Though Bera’s parents and many other Indian Americans of their generation focused mainly on getting good jobs and a good education for their children, today’s generation is working its way into politics and public service.

“Politics is the natural transition,” Bera said. “We actually have a chance to give back to the country that benefited us.”

Their efforts are paying off.

President Obama has appointed 20 Indian Americans to his administration, another all-time high. His first state dinner in November honored Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. Obama also was the first president to celebrate Diwali, the Hindu festival of lights, in the White House.

“The focus has now changed. ... It’s a maturing, a coming of age,” said Yogi Chugh of Fremont, Calif., the president of the Indian American Forum for Political Education. “It’s recognizing how this is so important, that you have to be involved, you have to be engaged. It’s taking the bull by the horn and saying, ‘I want to make public service a life service and a profession.’ “ Chugh said the record number of congressional candidates this year came after Indian Americans had worked to get elected to city councils and state offices and then naturally aspired to higher office.

“As more and more people have gotten involved locally, I think they’re naturally feeding into the system for higher office,” he said.

In 2008, a Minnesota Democrat was the only Indian American to run for Congress, according to Bhavna Pandit, a Democratic fundraiser and the political director of the Indian American Leadership Initiative. This year, in addition to California, Indian American Democratic candidates are running in Kansas, Louisiana, New York, Ohio and Pennsylvania.

“It probably just took our community a little longer than it took others to get there, but we’re there now,” Pandit said.

-- McClatchy Newspapers